Phebe Murdock (1828-1834)
}} Biography Trip to Missouri 1832 Phebe Murdock lost her mother in 1831. About the time her father, John Murdock (1792-1871) was ordained a High Priest at Kirtland, June 6, 1831, by Joseph the Prophet. At this event Joseph received a revelation Doctrine & Covenants 52:8 which included instructions for John Murdock, in company with Hyrum Smith (1800-1844) to begin a missionary trip to Missouri by way of Detroit. On this mission he was sick for five months and returned to Kirtland in June, 1832, in company with Elder Parley P. Pratt. In 1832 he sent his three oldest children (including Phebe) to live with Bishop Partridge in Missouri with some means for their support. Zions Camp Death in 1834 One of the most interesting episodes in the early history of LDS Church was the march of Zion's Camp (1834). The members of the Church in Missouri were being persecuted, and the Prophet Joseph made it a matter of prayer and received a revelation on February 24, 1834. The Lord instructed the Prophet to assemble at least one hundred young and middle-aged men and to go to the land of Zion, or Missouri. (See D&C 130:19–34.) Zion’s Camp, a group of approximately one hundred and fifty men, gathered at Kirtland, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 and marched to Jackson County, Missouri. By the time they reached Missouri, the camp had increased to approximately two hundred men. Phebe's father marched in Zions Camp to Missouri. Her reunion with her father was extremely brief and tragic, for there she contracted the Cholera that afflicted the camp in late June and died. in consequence of the disobedience of some who had been unwilling to listen to my words, but had rebelled, God had decreed that sickness should come upon the camp, and if they did not repent and humble themselves before God they should die like sheep with the rot; that I was sorry, but could not help it. The scourge must come; repentance and humility may mitigate the chastisement, but cannot altogether avert it. But there were some who would not give heed to my words. Smith's record from June 24, 1834, while the camp was in Clay County, Missouri, states: This night the cholera burst forth among us, and about midnight it was manifested in its most virulent form. Our ears were saluted with cries and moanings and lamentations on every hand; even those on guard fell to the earth with their guns in their hands, so sudden and powerful was the attack of this terrible disease. At the commencement, I attempted to lay on hands for their recovery, but I quickly learned by painful experience, that when the great Jehovah decrees destruction upon any people, and makes known His determination, man must not attempt to stay His hand. The moment I attempted to rebuke the disease I was attacked, and had I not desisted in my attempt to save the life of a brother, I would have sacrificed my own. The disease seized upon me like the talons of a hawk, and I said to the brethren: "If my work were done, you would have to put me in the ground without a coffin." ... Category:Deaths from cholera Category:Infectious disease deaths in Missouri